Cushion-tire.



unirsi) s'rAgrEs ruiriaivr OFFICE.

ALVARO s'. n noiz, "or JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN.

CUSHION-TIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 11, 191e.

Application led August 16, 1 913. Serial No. 785,137.

To all 'whom it may concern:v

. Be it known that I, ALVARO S. Kno'rz, a

I the following -is a specification.

My invention relates to veli'cle wheels of thatkind in whichthe'tire comprises a solid body of rubber or other resilient material seated in a rim'secured to the vfelly/ of the wheel.

tire in place. The formation of a tire of this It relates more particularly to Wheels of this-character in which the tire is of the clencher type, being retained in place by means engaging the inturned flanges of the rim.

My inv( ntion is chiefly concerned with the formation of the tread portion of the tire, and the means for removably holding the kindV is an important consideration, inasmuchas this determines tol a large extent the life, resiliency and other desirable characteristics thereof. Also, the manner in which the Vtire is held in place is of vital importance,

for the reason that the tire must not only be securely held against displacement, but must also be removable at will and with as little inconvenience as possible." It is to these features, therefore, which are always'serious problems in the designing of a serviceable arid satisfactory rubber tired wheel, that my tion is to provide 'a novel and highly eflicient invention more especially relates. Generally stated, the object of my invenvehicle wheel tire of the foregoing general character.

A special object is to provide an improved form of so-called notch tirein which the lateral notches or recesses lare tangential instead of radial, which latter isthe formation employed in my prior Patent No. 763909, it having been discovered by me that the tire is more resilient when the -notches aredis# Y posed tangentially, as this combines flexion 4and elasticity with compression, when the or skewing or angling thereof, will enable the same to pass in and out ofthe channel rim in which the clencher tire of this kind is ordinarily held, and which, in a case of this kind, for certain purposes, is made in one piece, or of several pieces rigidly secured together, whereby the tire must be compressed .or manipulated in order to permit seating and unseating thereof relative'to the channel of said rim, and in order to permit it to pass in and out between the inturned flanges thereof.

To these and other useful ends my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed. In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 i's a cross section of a cushion tire and rim embodying the principles o f my invention,

on line 1-1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a side'elevation of a portion thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan of the same. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a different formation of the tire. Fig. 5 is an enlargedview of one of the retainers which are embedded in the base of the tire yto engage the rim and securely hold the tire in place.

As thus illustrated, my invention comprises a r'im'A of the clench type, provided with inturned flanges a at the sides thereof. The tire B is of 'solid rubber or other'resilient material, being molded to iit the channel ofthe rim A, and having a reinforce ing layer of fabric b around the base thereof. It will be observed that the sides of the tire are provided with grooves b1 for the flanges changed or varied, if such is necessary. or

desirable. These notches or recessesbegin at the tread of the tire and extend toward the rim, but stop short of the latter, thus leaving a small portion of material over the flange at the'bottom of each recess. It will also be seen that the said recesses do not eX- tend to the middle of the tire, but. are terminated before reacliingthe center. With this construction the two series of notches are lseparated by a central wall b", which latter, in cross section, is broader at its base n than atl the tread thereof, as shown in Fig; 1.

Preferably, the sides of the tire are flat and.

parallel, and the tread is also flat, as shown;

and the tire sections formed by these ribs are longer than `they are wide-that is to say, their dimensions tangentially is greater than their dimension circumferentially of the wheel. p

'As shown in Figs. l and 2 and 3 the notches or recesses b2 at one side of the tire are opposite those jat the other side thereof. If desired, however, the arrangement shown in Fig. 4 can be employed. As shown here, the notches b5 are like those previous described, except that in this case they are saw tooth in shape, looking down on the tread, and are staggeredthat is to say, -thoseat one side alternate with those at the other side. Thus the notches b5 and the ribs be formed thereby are of the same size and shape. Like the recesses and ribs of Fig. 2, they are tangential in character.

The tire is held in place by the engagement of the base thereof with the clencher rim, in the usual manner; but as a matter of further and special improvement, the displacement of the tire from its seat is pre Vented by the retainers C which are einu bedded in the base of the tire, and which have reversely bent end portions c that are presented at opposite sides of the tire. The said retainers are made 'of wire or short rods, and are of a length to engage and extend under the fianges a, thus keeping the tire from pulling-out under side thrust. To insert the tire, the retainers C are skewed or angled against the tension of therubber,

until they can pass between the flanges of' the rim. Also, and by pushing endwise on these retainers, they are compressed and, in effect, shortened to some extent, inasmuch as each retainer is flexible. The angular adjustment of these retainers, in order to make them stand obliquely, is about axes which are radial of the wheel. This can be done by means of tools or instruments of any suitable character. e

The rim A can be of any suitable charac.

It can be of one piece ofpmetahor of ter. several pieces, without departing from the spirit of' my invention. lVith a tire formed as shown, I find tha good results are obtained, as the -resiliencv is increased, and in addition the tire is non'- skidding in character. When thev tire is compressed between the wheel and the ground, the ribs b4 or bs are flexed, aswell as compressed, as'they tend to fold together.

Thus flexion is added to compression tol make the` tire resilient. Also, the displacement 'of the rubber `circumferentially of the wheel, owing to theslant of the notches, is further resisted by the compression of the 4sides of the tire.

rubber ahead-.and the .back pull of the rub ber behind. Thus the weight of the wheel is opposed by various stresses and forces in the tire, including flexion and compression, andalso elasticity of the rubber.

As the spaces b2 orI 715, as the case may be, are of a substantial widthfand are comparatively close together, it follows that the ribs b4 are in the nature of lateral supports forming well defined projections on the In' other Words, the 'said recesses or spaces form sides for the tire, which sides are set inwardly or toward each other, leaivng the said ribs b4 or b project ing outwardly at each side. The tread porb2 or b, depending on the formation of the tire. The supports or projections b2 or b5 are arranged for compression between the ground and base portion of the tire, and the length of each support from base to tread thereof is greater than the width or thickness between spaces. Consequently, and as explained, each support or projection is flexible, and. will bend. readily in either direction with the longitudinal ydisplacement of the'tread portion of the tire, thus yieldin ily resisting such displacement.

y inclining the supports b2, and arranging them as shown, they overhang one another, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus there are radial lines of compression, each ot' which passes through the tread end of one support and then through the base of the next or adjacent support, as'illustrated by line X-X in Fig. 2. Thus there are no radial lines which, when viewed from the side, do not pass through at least one of said sup-v ports.

It Will -be seen that the spaces 52 and b5 are disposed at opposite sides of the tread of the tire and arranged in such manner that they are accessible vertically from the ground immediately below. In other words, and when-the tire is on the ground, there is then nothing intervening between the said spaces and the ground.

When the tread portion of the tire is under compression, it will be seen that the lateral supports or ribs are not only in Contact with the ground attheir ends, while traveling over a smooth road surface, but are also brought into contact with the ground at one inner side of each rib, to an, extent depending upon the Icompression of tread continue the ribs would .be flexed out of their tangential positions to such an exdo not interfere with each other under ordi,

nary conditions, although they are not so far apart but that they could be brought into contact with each other by extreme compression of the tread portion of the tire.

By reason of the arrangement of the ribs it will be seen that the outer end of each rib, or the end adjacent the tread, is subject with the tread to diminution by wear from contact with the ground. As the tread wears ofi", the ends of the ribs are also worn olf by friction and contact with the l ground. Again, it will be seen that the greater the compression of the tread the greater will be the distortion of the ribs directly in contact with a fiat ground surface. This is because the ribs will bulge outward and rest more and more on the ground as the weight increases. Should the tire roll to one side the ribs at that side will Contact more extensively with the ground, and should the action be carried far enough the ribs would roll entirely under the tread. But the proportions are preferably such, 'as shown, that the Side roll is reduced by the supporting effect of the ribs at opposite sides of the tread'.

lVhat I claim as my invention is:

1. A wheel tire comprising a` resilient body having a relatively wide base, a tread portion of less width than saidY base, extending centrally and continuously thereof, sub# ject to lateral displacement when the tire is in action, rib-like supports extending later- -along the opposite sides of said tread prtion.

2. A` wheel tire comprising a resilient body having a relatively wide base, a tread portion of less w1dth than sald base, eX-

' tending centrally and continuously thereof.

subject' to lateral displacement when the tire is in action, riblike supports extending lat' terally outside of the tread and disposed tangentially along the sides of the/tire to yieldingly resist lateral distortion of the tread portion, as well as the longitudinal displacement thereof, said supports being subject to distortion and increasing contact with a flat surface when the tire rolls to either side thereon, and spaces accessible ver tically from the ground immediately below and alternating with said supports to sepa'- rate the latter along the opposite sides of said tread portion, arranged to keep the said supports separate while in action between the ground and said base.

3. A wheel tire comprising a resilient bodyhaving a relatively wide base, a tread` the-ground immediately below and alternat-v ing with said supports to separate the latter along the opposite sides of said tread. portion, the spaces at one side being opposite the' supports of the other side, toprovide a zigzag tread for the tire. Y

4. A wheel tire' comprising a resilient body having a relativelywide base, a tread portion of less width than said base, ex-

tending centrally and continuously thereof,

Subj ect to lateral displacement when the tire is in action, supports disposed tangentially along the sides of the tire to yieldingly resist lateral distortion of the tread portion, as well as the longitudinal displacement thereof, and spaces accessible vertically from the ground immediately below and alternat ing with said supports along the opposite sides of said tread portion, said supports engaging the ground when the tread portion is compressed between the ground and said base.

5. A wheel tire comprising a resilient body having a base and a tread portion, and supportsv disposed tangentially alongthe sides of the'tire, spaced apart to form ribs which extend from the base toward the tread surface, and arranged to engage the ground in the plane o f said surface when the tire is under compression.

6. A wheel tire comprising a tread and base of resilient material, and integral ribs disposed at opposite sides of said tread, so arranged that the greater the compression of the tire upon a flat surfacethe'greater will be the distortion ofsaid ribs directly on said surface, the ribs at one side being iinclined and non-radial when' thetireis viewed from the side, and the ribs at the other Side being similarly arranged relative to each other.

7. A wheel tire: comprisin' 1.a, tread and,-

base of resilient material, an integral ribs disposed at opposite sides lief-said tread, so

arranged thatI the end of each rib adjacent Signed by me at Janesvi11e,Wis., this 11th i the tread is subject therewith to diminution day of Aug., 1913. by Wear from Contact With the ground the ribs at one Side being inclined and ilon- ALVARO S' KROTZ' vradial When the tire is viewed from the side, Witnesses# and the ribs at the other side being similarly HARRY MOESER, arranged relative to each-other. ISABELLA ROBERTS. 

